America…the Great?

Would the Founding Fathers be proud of what we’ve become?

The greatest argument I hear among political debates is, “that’s not what our founders would have wanted.” We seem to be caught in the inherent idea that our Constitution is cast in stone, leaving the ideas that founded our country unmalleable for all eternity.

If that were true, then I, as a mixed race Black woman, would unlikely exist, much less be expressing my views right now. If I did exist, I would be a product of rape and not love; I would be property of my master until he deemed me no longer worthy and either sold or killed me.

The Founding Fathers knew the Constitution wasn’t perfect. They ratified ten amendments six months after the Constitution was adopted. They added almost as many more within 20 years.

American democracy was — is an experiment. Our country was established on the idea that we didn’t need a monarchy to rule over us, but that we could self-govern. As the years have gone by, some of the flaws in that thought process have become painfully apparent. After all, we are still human and our own self-interest and need for self-preservation will always win out without checks and balances to hold our elected officials accountable to us, those who voted them into office.